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Gone are the days when a manager could stride into his dressing room, say “Lads, it’s Tottenham” and leave the room satisfied that his message had been delivered. That was Sir Alex Ferguson’s way of motivating his players at Manchester United before games against the north London club, back when a streak of self-destructiveness threatened to undermine Spurs at every turn.

November can be a bit depressing. With the clocks having gone back, dusk starts descending in the afternoon, the mornings get steadily darker too and Christmas dominates the retail agenda to a surely unhealthy extent. If you are Arsène Wenger it is also a worrying time. During a tenure spanning two decades as Arsenal manager, November has consistently proved the cruellest month for the Frenchman.